Trials and Tribulations
by kaangluv
Summary: A Kataang story. Aang confesses his love to Katara, who rejects him. A story of how Aang battles his inner fears with a little help from his friends. Will be T later.Thank you for all of your kind reviews! What a blessing to have such great readers!
1. Of Darkest Nightmares

_The desolation astounded us. Singed skeletons and burning homes swallowed my vision, overwhelming me. I suddenly felt powerless, unable to continue. But there was hope. Katara held my hand, smiling. I watched her running out intrepidly against the Firebenders. She drew water from her waterskin, deftly blocking a fireball that I hadn't noticed._

_I grabbed her hand again, and looked her in the eyes. "Katara, I love you." I said. She drew back, horrified. I was astonished. All of these signs, and now..She let go of my hand. "Katara, wait!" I screamed over the din. The yells of dying men and women drew my ears back to reality.An Earthbending General fell beside me, her face convulsing in pain and surprise. I whirled around, only to witness Katara falling back, back, arching gracefully as a fireball engulfed her. "NO!" I screamed. I ran towards her,dodging fire and hurtling over wreckage, but she was so far away. Had to get water, had to get water, save Katara. She screamed, the sound causing me physical pain. I reached for her, but she wasn't there. No, it was Ozai, flashing fire at my face..but I hadn't mastered Firebending, and-_

I woke up, screaming with an imagined but ever searing dream. I felt my face in the dark, fearing that only half of it was left. No, no..It was a dream, another aftereffect of..that..

Katara sat up. She spoke the first words she had said to me in two weeks. "Aang..are you..okay?" I smiled half-heartedly, forgetting that she couldn't see me in the dark of the early morning. "No, Katara, I'm not." She didn't pester me further, as I chose roll over, taciturn.

flashback

_The moon was bright overhead as Katara and I practiced Waterbending. "So you see, if you can learn to concentrate hard enough, the move will become second nature in need." She said brightly. She enjoyed anything having to do with her natural element. "Great." I said austerly. She sensed it though. No one could fool Katara. "Aang..something wrong?" _

_"No, Katara..nothing's wrong. It's just well.." he said, rubbing the back of his neck, "I have to tell you something.." _

_"Sure, Aang." she said._

_  
He drew her over to a forgotten tree stump, sitting down on the ground opposite her. "I can't keep this from you any longer.."Aang began, "and before I start, I just need to ask you..do you consider us..friends?"_

_Katara smiled. "Well of course, silly!"_

_Aang returned the smile weakly. "Well, did you ever think..that ..you know.."He wiped his brow, hesistating._

_"Yes, Aang?"_

_"Well, what I meant to say is..is..I like you Katara..but more than usual. I-I think you're beautiful and funny, and.." he balked, looking at her sheepishly. _

_She had her hands over her mouth. "Aang, I-I..I don't know how to say this." She said gently. "But..I don't feel the same way. I'm sorry."_

_Aang stood up, scared and embarrased. Grabbing his staff, he turned around, taking to the night sky. _

_"No, Aang! Come back!" Katara yelled. "Aang!"_

I was such a fool.. I can't believe..

I lost all thought as I fell into another few hours of restless sleep.

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R+R if you liked it! I know it's a little generic right now, but it'll get better.


	2. Boy Talk

"Aang, breakfast." Sokka jostled my shoulder, roughly shaking me from sleep. "Wha-!" I jolted upright, rubbing my eyes.

"Breakfast." Sokka said again. "Oh." I said, grabbing his extended hand. As I was pulled to my feet, I stretched stiffly. Sleeping on the the ground had never bothered me before, but when I was reliving every living nightmare I'd ever had..well, that was different.

"Smells good." I said to no one in particular. I seated myself on a log, the scent of warm bread wafting towards me.

I glanced at Katara. It hurt to not be talking. She was my friend. I was willing to remain that way, if it just meant the end of this verbal winter. I would have to talk with Sokka.

Snapping up the last bit of my food, I began packing up our things. Ten minutes before departure, I pulled Sokka aside.

"I need some advice." I said casually.

"Yeah?" Sokka said. "What about?"

I stared at the ground, as if it were unusually interesting. " A girl."

Sokka raised his eyebrow. "I thought you were over the Fortune Teller girl."

I coughed. "I never- oh, ...yeah, I'm over her.. But this is about..about.."

"Look, Aang, we've got to go soon."

"Katara."

Sokka flushed. "Oh...wait until camp tonight. This'll take awhile."

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Katara yawned.

"Time to bring Appa down, Sokka. I'm getting tired."

Sokka did so, steering Appa towards a brushy clearing. Appa landed softly.

I stared up at the twilight from his position on the saddle. "It's going to rain tonight." I stated.

Sokka pulled the tarps out from their bags. "We'll need these, then."

The three pitched their tents, one for Katara and one for Sokka and I. Sokka, having finished placing the tarp above our tent, crawled in.

"So, Aang..you like Katara, then?"

I nodded bashfully.

"Well, the first step is to tell h-"

"No. I already tried. Disaster."

Realization filled Sokka's eyes. "So that's why you two are ignoring each other. You know, I kind of suspected that you liked her...So trying to patch things up now, are you?"

I nodded again. "I'd rather she liked me too, but I'm happy with anything but her not talking to me. It's torture."

Sokka grinned 'wisely'. "I know exactly what you need to do."

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Sorry for the shortness. I promise the next chapter will be longer.


	3. Mere Complications

Katara stood ankle deep in the river, deftly streaming the water in a complex maneuver. I watched from above, seated on one of three largish boulders sitting at the high end of the water. Sokka whispered his last instructions to me and headed back to camp. I sat, pensieve, still wondering if this was the right path. I sighed, resigned. Sokka obviously had more experiance than me.

Trudging through knee-deep water, I headed downstream until I reached a small drop. I looked down apprehensivly. Sokka had said that all I needed to do was play it up, but somehow it seemed harder than that. I silently wondered if he was still angry at me for burning that seal jerky of his so many months ago, and if this was all a ploy..I brushed away naivity, making loud splashing noises. Katara, startled, lost her concentration and turned to where I was so precariously perched. Asking my lives for mercy, I began to labor through the most complex series of moves I even remotely recollected. I was aware of Katara watching me, but for this to work, I had to be 'oblivious'. Again, as Sokka had said would happen, I began to lose control of the water. This is where the feigning was to come in..

Trying my hardest to make it look natural, I wrapped a tendril of water around my ankle. Taking a breath, I pulled myself underwater, ripped down by the small waterfall's current. I ran out of breath, creating a small bubble of air for my head. I squinted underwater, the rushing in my ears heightening my morbid anticipation. I remembered Sokka's tips, and began thrashing wildly. I heard a muffled shout. Maybe it was working. All thoughts were severed as I plummeted, falling ten feet into much shallower water below. I smashed into the bottom, a cracking sound amplified under the crushing torrent. Lights burst in front of my eyes, but I remained conscious. Pulling myself up and out of the water, I coughed up blood.

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"Aang?" A soft voice said."Aang?" The angelic tone echoed in my head. Was I dead?

Suddenly, my thoughts turned to Sokka. I smiled. Peabrain. Darn it, where was I! A cool hand wiped my forehead, bathing my face with a wet cloth.

I reached up, my hazy vision barely guiding my hand to the face of my angel. She gasped, but didn't move. She put her hand on mine.

My vision cleared. Katara!

I jerked my hand back and looked away touchily. " I'm sorry. I didn't know it was you."

Katara seemed surprised by my vehemence.

"Aang," she whispered, "I never meant to hurt you. Why can't you believe that?"

"Because I don't want to!" I snipped moodily.

Katara recoiled again. This wasn't the Aang she knew.

"I know that what I said hurt you, Aang. But it was true. Please don't be angry."

I melted, and looked at her. "I'm sorry." I choked.

"But why?" I asked, tears at my eyes.

"I just..don't. You're my best friend. I want you to be happy. But I can't do everything for you. It's just not how I feel right now."

I looked away, again, sullen. "You mean so much to me, Katara. I need to know that **you** are happy. I guess..If you're happy, I am."

I tried to sit up, excrusiating pain cutting through my side.

"Two broken ribs." Katara said, disapprovingly. "You really should be more careful with moves you haven't mastered yet."

I grimaced. "Well, will you help me again?"

She started. "I-I don't know Aang..do you feel comfortable with that?"

I smiled through the pain. "Yeah."

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_"It's just not how I feel right now.."_

_"I never meant to hurt you."_

_"I-I don't know how to say this..I don't feel the same way..I'm sorry."_

_"I'm sorry."_

It seems like I'm hearing that more and more from Katara." I sighed, turning to Sokka again.

"I feel so helpless." I said, shoulders sagging. "She just..isn't interested.."

"Hey, Aang, buck up. She never liked any of the boys back home either."

I groaned, rolling over.

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All right! Three is up! Just goes to show how much Sokka knows. (sniggle)


	4. Just me

_A burst of lightning crackled powerfully. A face flashed in a blood red backdrop, screaming innocents succumbing to searing arms, carrying them away to a place where pain didn't exist. A woman screamed. I turned.Katara fell back, back, arching gracefully as a fireball engulfed her. "NO!" I screamed. I ran towards her,dodging fire and hurtling over wreckage, but she was so far-_

"Aang, what's with you?" Sokka stood over me, nudging me with the toe of his boot."You're usually first up. You're lagging behing a lot, and-..."

As Sokka continued to rant, I rubbed the sleep from my eyes, groaning. I'd had the dream again. And I knew all too well what they said about dreams you have more than once..

"...and I don't know what you're groaning about, because if you would use your nose you would smell that I caught a rabbit-squirrel, and Katara ismaking it specially for me, Mister I'm-lovestruck-so-I-think-I'll-go-jump-off- a waterfall, and-"

I raised my hand, ignoring Sokka's blatant run on sentences. "Please, Sokka.." I croaked, "Headache." Sokka stopped, pulling me up by the arm. I slowly picked up my shirt, dropping it carelessly over my head. "Water." I said rudimentarily. Sokka rolled his eyes, opening the tent flap to fetch water for Mister I'm-lovestruck-so-I-think-I'll-go-jump-off- a-waterfall. I sighed, dragging myself out of our tent, shoes forgotten. Rubbing my head, I willed the splitting headache away.

Only then did I notice Katara, her eyes sagging, her hair disheveled, her tunic crumpled. "Aang!" she exclaimed, her voice laced with sleep, "I'm so glad you're a-a-awake.." She turned her eyes back to the sizzling meat, stifling another yawn. "Katara.." I said softly. "What happened?" Katara was always perfectly fresh in the morning, optimistic and ready to go. "Oh.."she said, blushing. "You were having another bad dream, so I-I-I stayed awake with you."

I looked at her concernedly. "Katara, you need sleep."

"I can get it on Appa."

"What if we have to stop?"

"Then I'll wake up."

"Katara, you're being stubborn. You need to rest. "

She looked at me angrily.

"Who's going to teach me to master waterbending?" I asked slyly.

She slumped. "Fine. After Sokka eats." She gasped. "Oh, Aang! I forgot. You must be starving!"

_"It's just not how I feel right now.."_

_"I never meant to hurt you."_

_"I-I don't know how to say this..I don't feel the same way..I'm sorry."_

_"I'm sorry."_

I smiled sadly. "No, not really."

Sokka returned, water sloshed all over his shirt, but no water in my canteen. "Sokka," I said. "Where's the water?"

Sokka glanced at me darkly, mumbling about 'dumb fish'. He sat down roughly. "Is it ready yet?" He whined.

Katara looked at him sardonically. "Of course, Prince Sokka."

She took the meat right off of the stone she was using to cook it and plopped it in Sokka's lap.

"Hope it's to your liking."

She stomped over to Appa, readying us to leave, and I stifled a laugh. Sokka looked at me dangerously, stuffing the still cooking food into his mouth. "AAAAIIIEEEE!"

Neither Katara or I could supress our laughs now, what with Sokka running around camp like some sort of headless chicken. I laughed again, weakly, clutching my ribs. I bent down to gather up our things, ignoring the tightness in my chest.

Sokka gulped, franticallyforcing the hot meat down his throat.He straightened up.Acting as if nothing had happened, he strode smugly to the tent, starting to take it down; only to have it collapse on top of his head. I laughed again, the pain distant in comparison to the humor. "Aang. Shoes." Sokka said, throwing them at my head.I pulled them on wordlessly.

"C'mon, Cro-Magnon boy! And you too, Aang. We need to go!" Katara yelled.

I smiled, slinging my things carefully over my back. Sokka joined me,carying a rather badly packed tent. It would probably spring from its bindings in midair, at which point I would have to jump into the air and save it, -..Actaully, there was no way I was Airbending like this. Whoam I fooling? _No one.._my conscience said smugly. _You **had **to listen to Sokka and make a fool of yourself didn't you? Who do you think you are? No one likes you. Not even Kat-. _I took a deep breath and climbed onto Appa.

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Luckily, Katara had taken the initiative to re-pack the problem tent andtie it next to her own. Luckily, we had gone for four hours without encountering anything hostile. Unluckily, Katara still remained alien, speaking to me only when absolutely necessary, unfortunantely taking my advice and taking a nap. I sighed audibly. Sokka left sharpening his boomerang and plopped down next to me. Appa protested at his force. "So, Aang.." Sokka breathed through closed teeth. "Katara still ignoring you?"

I nodded miserably.

"Well, "

I groaned, remembering the effect his last bit of advice had had.

"Fine!" he said, looking affronted. "I just wanted to help!"

I wiped my forehead. That took care of Sokka.

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"Katara?" I said tentativly. She looked up.

"Yeah?"

"D-do..you think it would be okay to start waterbending again?"

She hopped up, her reinvigorating nap easily apparent.

"Sure."

The walk to the nearest creek was silent, except for the crackling of dry leaves underfoot. We stopped about forty feet from the banks. "Um. Katara?" I asked. "Aren't we going any closer?"

She sighed. "I need to say something to you, Aang. I love you too, but not how you'd like. I love you like Sokka, a brother. I just want to know that this waterbending won't be a bad idea."

I shrugged. "Like what? I know how you feel now. I just want to learn to waterbend so I can defeat Lord Ozai. Then we can go our seperate ways. If you don't want to teach me, I'll find someone else."

Katara sighed again. She caught my shoulder and steered me towards the creek.

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"No, Aang, you have to keep your feet square. If you don't, you'll always leave one side of your body prone to attack."

I nodded, complying. I laughed inwardly at her teacherly manner. I almost wanted to call her 'ma'am.'

"I-I don't know how to say this..I don't feel the same way..I'm sorry." If I could just show her how I felt...

I shook my head. I had promised Katara. This had to work, because I **had **to learn Waterbending.

"Are you okay, Aang?" she said cautiously.

"Mm-hmm." I mumbled. "Let's try that stance again."

She nodded, smiling at me for the first time in..too long.. I pushed the thoughts from my head, concentrating on the task at hand.

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The walk back to camp was a little less uncomfortable than the walk from it. Katara laughed, telling me stories about her life in the Southern Water Tribe.

"...and Ryoto and Sokka were at each other's throats all the time!" she laughed again, tears leaking from her eyes. I wanted to just laugh with her, like the old times...I fought the overwhelming urge to brush the tears away from her face, even tears of joy.. Katara saw the look on my face and pursed her lips.

"What are you thinking about, Aang?" she asked.

"Oh." I said, caught by surprise. "Just worrying that Sokka will have burned the camp down." I laughed, and so did Katara. Only I knew that my laugh had been fake. But why was I being so sour? Why couldn't I just enjoy Katara's company? What right did I have to like her so?

I actually listened to the rest of Katara's stories the rest of the way back. Maybe it was best to just be..me.

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Ugh..Lame-o chapter.. Sorry, I'm in the midst of a writer's block...Did anyone get my allusion to the fishslap when Sokka went to get the water? XD


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